


The Life And Times of Fareeha Amari

by theflyingpeanut



Series: Overwatch Rides Again [8]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Mentions of Death, Oral Sex, Trans Female Character, Trans Tracer, Trans zarya, Young Fareeha "Pharah" Amari, a complicated mother-daughter relationship, like one chapter will be explicit but it still feels fair to tag it as such
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-23 04:06:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9640055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theflyingpeanut/pseuds/theflyingpeanut
Summary: Overwatch needs a commander. Someone who can lead it back to greatness. To be something better than it was before. There's only one woman who's fit for the job.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It is surprisingly hard to just not write smut and fluff all the time, so here's something that's a bit more serious than normal. Still plenty of fluff, and a bit of smut, but yeah.
> 
> Also, there's a lot of trans characters in this series of stories that I haven't tagged, but only because they don't really come up much. So, along with Tracer and Zarya, Mercy, Mei, Genji and McCree are all trans.

It still took some time to get used to a new bedroom, even if it was a quicker process than it used to be. She had spent a lot of her holidays with Overwatch, and on one particularly busy summer, had slept in six different places for the two months she had spent with her mother. There were things that helped her settle in, however. She had some pictures taken with friends that she set up around the room, along with some taken with crushes that she kept hidden away from prying eyes. There was also her own blanket that she always took with her, something familiar that made it easier to slip into a peaceful sleep each night.

Finally, there was her library. Well, not an actual library, but a collection of books that she'd managed to build up at pretty much every base. Every time she came, at least one of the agents working at the base had left her something new to read, and this year had proven to be no disappointment. Reinhardt had left a massive bundle of fantasy novels, and she had grabbed an armful of them, taking them to her room and piling them on her bed, sorting out the ones to read first from the list he had left with them. Her mother had been busy with meetings that day, so she had decided to get started on the first one. She'd ended up getting so engrossed that she didn't even notice when Ana had entered the room, giving a short scream when she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

“I'm sure Reinhardt will be pleased with how much you're enjoying those.” Fareeha glared up at her as she laughed, sitting down on the bed next to her. Her eyes glanced over the book in her hands, before a grin spread across her face. “So, have you been treating that thing roughly, or has it just had a hard life up till now?” She looked down at it, staring at the yellow, folded down pages and faded patches on the cover, and started smiling.

“I think he's had it a long time. They all seem pretty well worn, but this one looks to be the oldest. It's called ʻThe Last Wishʼ. It's the first in the series. He's even highlighted passages in it.” She giggled, thinking of the number of books he'd given her which had been in the same condition. If anything caught his eye, he seemed to mark it out, either so he could look it up later, or so whoever read it after him would be able to see the things that he thought were important.

“Oh? Anything of interest?” Ana craned her neck over her shoulder, scanning the pages as Farehha flicked back to an earlier part. “I've only been gone for a few hours. How much did you manage to read?”

“Nearly finished it,” she muttered absent-mindedly, not noticing her mother's low whistle as she found the part that had stuck with her. “There we go. The first thing he highlighted.” She read over it in silence for a moment, before hearing a small cough from her mother, her face feeling hot as she turned to see her grinning from over her shoulder.

“Well, do you want to read it out to me? I'd ask you to pass the book over, but you seem loathe to part with it right now.” Fareeha turned back to the book, nodding and taking a breath before clearing her throat.

ʻEvil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling. It's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.ʼ She stopped, waiting to see if her mother was going to say anything before she continued. “There's a whole exchange around it, but that's the bit he highlighted. I guess it spoke to him.” She set it down, grabbing another book from the pile with a similar cover. “He's got it in German too. I think I'll use that for practice later, but I don't know why the English one's been used so much more.”

“I think I have an idea about that.” She turned back to her mother, watching her smirk as she turned the book back to her, open at the front cover. “This was a gift, from someone called Marcus to his, uh, ʻbig, fuzzy bear.ʼ I'm guessing that's Reinhardt.” Fareeha felt her face heating up again, staring back down at the bed as Ana laughed. “Trust him to concentrate on a part like that in a lover's gift.” Her mother handed the book back to her, and she looked down at it, smiling at the cover.

“I like it. It's very heroic. Very like him.” She felt her mother hug her from behind, squeezing her tightly and sighing.

“It's certainly very idealistic. Maybe not that realistic, though it would certainly be a good standard to aim for.” Ana chuckled, swaying her back and forth. “I suppose I can hardly be surprised that you'd like that. I mean, you might be his biggest fan. Did you remember to bring your poster so he could finally sign it?” She groaned, hearing her mother laugh harder as she squirmed out of her arms.

“Please tell me he doesn't know about that.” She stared at her, feeling a growing sense of horror as she went silent, sucking in air between her teeth before she burst out laughing again.

“Of course I haven't told him. You are such a little worrier sometimes.” She stopped laughing, suddenly looking much more serious as she took hold of Fareeha's hand. “You do know that you can trust me to keep your secrets, right? If you ever need to talk, you can come to me. Anything you say will be safe with me.” She felt herself blushing again, and leaned in to hug her mother again, squeezing her tight.

“I know. And if I need to talk, I will.” She heard her mother sigh softly, and gave her another quick squeeze before breaking the hug. “So, did you have any plans for the evening? Any more meetings?” Ana quickly started smiling again, shifting to the edge of the bed and standing up.

“Nope. Completely free for the rest of the night. Hopefully for the rest of the week too. I was actually going to ask if you wanted to come watch a film. I've been planning on seeing all the Star Wars films again, and now seems as good a time as any to start. Nothing like being with someone when they watch a film for the first time.” She placed the book back in the pile, making sure her bookmark was still in place, before jumping off the bed, following her mother out her room.

“Aren't those films really ancient? The first one came out like a hundred years ago, right?” Her mother shook her head, huffing with mock disgust.

“You can't judge a film by it's age. A New Hope is a wonderful, brilliant film, and it's barely even 80 years old. You've probably got books in that pile of yours that are much older.” Fareeha rolled her eyes, trailing along behind her.

“I mean, I'll give the film a chance, but it's really not the same thing. There wasn't a lack of words back then that makes them really ugly and hard to read now.”

“You shouldn't be so superficial about films. Just because it isn't hyper-realistic, doesn't mean it looks bad. Trust me, you'll love it.” She thought on it a moment, before realising what she wanted to do, speeding up to move past her mother before turning to look at her.

“I'll watch it, but only if you promise to play D&D with me and Reinhardt tomorrow night. He's been working real hard on this campaign, and I know he'd be really pleased if you played with us too.” Ana stared down at her, arching an eyebrow.

“The last time I played my character died during the first fight. I'd spent hours working on her, and I barely even got to do anything.” Fareeha tried not to laugh at how upset her mother seemed to be about it, and grabbed her hand instead, dragging her along as she walked backwards down the hall.

“Reinhardt's a much nicer DM than Jesse was. He'll fudge his rolls to make things more fun and stuff. Plus, I'll help you make your character to make sure they're as good as possible.” She saw Ana's eyebrow raise, and quickly grinned at her. “Not that she wasn't good. She maybe just needed a couple of stat changes to work better. That's all.” She stared at her a moment longer, then sighed and nodded.

“Fine. But if my new character dies before we finish the first session, I'm never playing again.” Fareeha gave a little cheer, pumping her fist and skipping ahead of her mother, hearing faint mutterings about how cool Furiosa had been.

~

She had her eyes closed as she removed the Raptora suit, listening to the gentle hum of the dropship around her. She'd been with Overwatch for almost a year, and she still wasn't used to how quiet these things were. When she'd been in the military, she'd needed to shout to be heard by someone sitting next to her. Now, even standing at the opposite end of the aircraft, she could hear the rest of the team talking, and she smiled to herself when she heard Reinhardt's booming laugh overshadow everything. She set the last piece of armour on the rack, and stretched her arms above her head, sighing deeply. She'd spent far too much time in it the past week, sleeping in it a few times, which was incredibly uncomfortable, even if it was doable.

“Fareeha.” She turned when she heard her mother's voice, seeing her smiling in the doorway. She was still in her full uniform, everything covered in a layer of dust with the exception of her hijab, which had been protected by her hood. “You'd been back here for a while. I was going to check if you needed any help, but obviously not.” Pharah chuckled, watching her mother sit on the bench next to her as she swapped the tight clothing she wore under her armour for jeans and a t-shirt.

“Yeah, I've gotten pretty good at this. The advantage of years of experience.” She sat down, leaning back against the wall and grinning. “I just like to take it slow sometimes. It can be quite a relaxing process. Very methodical. Calms the mind.” There'd been an earthquake, and they'd spent the past week tracking down a mercenary group that had been stealing supplies meant for disaster relief, extorting the people who should have been receiving them. Mercy, Zarya, Symmetra and Lùcio had headed off by themselves to provide some direct support to towns that weren't getting any help, but the rest of them had headed after the mercs.

“Any particular reason you needed to calm yours?” She turned to look at her mother, turning her gaze back to the floor when she spotted the concerned look on her face. “I know you're a soldier. I know you've killed people before. That doesn't make it any easier, and it doesn't mean you can't be hurt by it.” When they'd finally tracked the mercenaries down, it had ended almost immediately. They hadn't been expecting any kind of resistance, least of all from Overwatch. So when they saw who they were up against, all of them surrendered. All except their leader.

“I did what I had to do.” Pharah had ended up alone with the man. Seeing the rest of his soldiers surrender didn't make him give up. A concussive blast that sent him skidding across the ground didn't convince him to stay down. “If I'd waited any longer he could have shot one of you. Shot a civilian. He forced my hand.” He'd scrambled to his feet holding his rifle, firing wildly at her. She could make out some of the marks in her armour where he'd managed to connect. The rest of the team had started moving up when the gunfire started, and people behind had started running away behind him. She'd taken the shot before anyone else could be hurt, and then it was over. “It would have been better if it could have ended another way. There and then, I couldn't see any other option that didn't involve other people getting hurt. That man thought that the chance to exploit and harm others was something worth dying for. I don't feel bad about being the one that killed him. Maybe I will one day, but right now, I know that I did the right thing.” Her mother sighed softly, shifting herself closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I think you made the right call. It was a hard one, but you did excellently. I'm truly proud of you.” Fareeha couldn't stop herself from smiling as she felt her mother squeeze her tighter. “You might not need to talk about it now, but if you ever feel the need, I'm always here, no matter what's bothering you.” Part of her wanted to say something cruel, something hurtful, but it was a petty part, and she ignored it. There was nothing to be gained from dragging that up again. Instead, she hugged her back, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and smiling.

“Thank you. You know the same is true for you as well.” Her mother nodded and grinned, letting go and resting against the wall next to her. “Let's talk about something else. Like, say, how things are going with Angela and Zarya?” Her mother's grin turned to a smirk, and she raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Do you really want to know? I remember you reacting somewhat poorly to revelations about my love life on previous occasions.” Pharah felt a momentary twist in her gut to her face as the memory of walking in on her mother and Zarya together flashed through her mind, but it passed quickly enough. Lena had been right. It was quickly turning into more of a funny memory than a mortifying one.

“Well, maybe I don't need quite so many details as I got the first time, but yes, I'd like to know how things are going. Two of my close friends are dating my mother. I've got a lot of reasons to be interested in that.” Ana smiled warmly at her, closing her eye and resting her head back.

“It's going well. Very well, in fact. It's taken a bit of work to get the ground rules sorted when it comes to the polyamory thing, but it's been an enjoyable experience so far. It's been a long time since I've had such a good relationship.” She opened her eye, turning her head and grinning at Pharah. “So, what about you? Are things going well with Lena?”

“It's going pretty great.” She couldn't stop herself from grinning as she thought about her girlfriend, and noticed that her mother's smile was getting wider as well. “She makes me happy. Really, really happy.” She felt her face heat up, and ran her hand through her hair, grinning sheepishly. “I told her I loved her last month, and she said she did too.” She saw Ana's face light up, and suddenly she was wrapped in a hug, hearing her mother chuckle in her ear.

“That's excellent! I'm glad for you.” She pulled back slightly, hands still resting on her face, smile beaming from her face. “So, was it some big romantic occasion? A fancy dinner and roses and the like? I think we can share details about this.” Her face got hotter as she remember laying in bed with Lena, confessing her love while she thought her girlfriend was sleeping.

“Nothing like that,” she said, desperate not to give her mother the actual details. “We were just messing around in bed and it slipped out.” She saw Ana start to smirk, a wave of panic rushing through her as she realised the implications of what she'd just said.

“Well, I guess she must be doing something right then.” Pharah tried to think of a response while her mother chuckled, but she was interrupted by the appearance of Lena and Winston. Her girlfriend was grinning wildly as she followed him in, while the gorilla was smiling softly.

“I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just wanted to ask Pharah if she could come to my office once we got back.” Ana shook her head, standing up and grinning at her daughter.

“That's fine, Winston. I was about to head back to the others anyway. Unless there's anything more you'd like to tell me Fareeha?” She swallowed, shaking her head and listening to her mother laugh as she walked back to the front of the ship. Winston stared after her in confusion for a moment, before turning back to Pharah.

“Well, would you be able to come up? I understand it's been a busy week, and you might want to rest. There's just something I wanted to run by you quick.” She nodded, smiling up at the scientist.

“That should be fine. We could talk about whatever it is here, if you'd prefer. We've got plenty of time.” Winston shook his head, walking back to the front of the ship.

“It'll be better to do it back at the base. More official. For now, I'm going to get back on the radio. Try and let the others know everything's gone fine.” She watched him as he left, wondering what it was that he wanted to talk about, before turning back to Lena.

“So, do you know what this is about?” She was still grinning, and sat next to her, lifting her arm so that she could rest her head under it.

“Of course I do. Winston tells me everything.” Pharah looked down at her, rubbing a hand through her short hair and sighing.

“You're not going to tell me, are you?” Lena laughed, wrapping and arm round her waist and nuzzling her head against her chest.

“Nope. That'd ruin the surprise.” Pharah rolled her eyes as her girlfriend continued to laugh, squeezing her tight. There was no point pushing her. Lena was never one to give up a kind of secret. At least, not a harmless one. So she closed her eyes, cuddling her close and trying to get a bit of rest as she listened to the gentle hum of her chronal accelerator.


	2. Chapter 2

“Mum?” She'd been waiting for an answer, praying that it would come before the signal went again. Reception had been spotty at best for days, and she didn't know when she'd get another chance to call. She could always send an instant message but her mother was in the habit of ignoring those for weeks at a time, so she couldn't really see the point.

“Fareeha?” She sighed as she heard her mother's voice crackle over the line, glad to finally get through to her.

“I can't think of any other children that would be calling you. I've been waiting on the line for ages.”

“I'm sorry, I was caught up with work. Why are you calling? Has something happened?”

“Nothing bad. It's good news, actually. You're currently speaking to Captain Amari.” She waited a beat for her mother's reaction, wondering if the line had been cut off as the silence dragged on. “Are you still there?”

“Yes, I'm here. Just a bit surprised.” She heard a soft sigh over the line, and her stomach dropped slightly at the sound. “Congratulations. I'm proud of you. You got there faster than I did.” Fareeha leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and sighing herself.

“I know you didn't want me to join the army. I was just hoping that after this long I'd get a bit more enthusiasm.” She heard her mother sigh again, and imagined the irritated look that would be on her face right now. She fought the urge to say something else, not wanting to escalate this any more.

“I am proud of you. I'm proud of everything you do. I've just had a long day, and… ugh.” Her mother grunted over the line, and she heard the sound of papers being thrown about her desk. “I'm going on a mission soon, but it should be a simple enough thing. After that, how about I head through to Cairo we go out and celebrate? Get dinner, see a show. My treat.” Fareeha couldn't be sure if her mother was genuinely happy about the news, but she couldn't stop herself from grinning at the thought that she was.

“Fine. But I get to choose the show. I've got no desire to be taken out to one of your classic film nights again.” She could practically hear Ana rolling her eyes at the other end of the line as more papers were shifted in the background, and smiled at the thought of seeing her again. It had been nearly a year since they'd last met, which, quite frankly, was far too long. “We should wrap this up. I don't know how much longer I'll actually have any signal, so can you send me a message when you're going get here?”

“Of course. I'm looking forward to it. I love you, Fareeha.” She chuckled, heading over to her desk, looking at a photo of the two of them.

“I love you too mum. See you soon.”

~

There was no dinner. No show. Fareeha was in her apartment a few days later when she got a call from Jack. They'd lost a few soldiers to an enemy sniper. Ana had covered them long enough to pull out, and stayed behind to try and take the sniper out. They hadn't had any contact from her since then. The army gave her some time off, so for a month, she waited for news.

After a few days, Overwatch were able to get a team into the area to look for her. They weren't willing to share any details with her, but she heard it all from Reinhardt. They'd found a lot of her blood in a flat near the mission, along with the remains of her cybernetic eye. There'd been a trail of blood leading out to the street, but nothing else. No body. No evidence of her being captured. Nothing.

After a month, they gave up any kind of active search. Her mother couldn't be officially declared dead, not till a year had passed, but she knew what they were thinking. Her girlfriend tried to help her through it. Tried to get her to leave her apartment, see her friends. In the end, she gave up. Fareeha didn't blame her. She wasn't sure if she would have stuck around for it. They'd been dating for a couple of months before her mother's disappearance. She hadn't signed on for that.

She headed back to work a week after that. There was nothing to do on the base, but it was good to be around her people. They didn't try and find out how she was feeling, didn't ask questions. She did her job, and they did theirs. Sometimes, she tried to get in touch with Jesse, see how he was holding up, but there was never any response. Her friend was off the radar.

6 months after she'd gone missing, a memorial event was organised at the Zürich headquarters. Her mother still wasn't officially dead, a body still hadn't been found, but people were coming in from across the world to mourn her. Politicians, celebrities, people she'd never met sending letters and messages to let her know how sorry they were for a loss she hadn't accepted yet. An invitation to come and remember her mother's life. Give a speech. She threw it away. A few days before it was going to happen, Reinhardt turned up at her door, and it nearly turned into a fight before she realised he wasn't interested in a memorial either. Instead, they spent the day hanging out, eating food, talking about how things were going, what they were still doing to look for Ana. It had been a long time since she'd spent any time with the man, and it felt good. Comforting. He told her that Jesse had left, and as much as the news was painful to her, she could see it was nothing compared to how much it was hurting him. He also told her that he was still keeping pressure on Gabriel to look for leads, and that he'd let her know if anything turned up. She told him that she was reaching out to people her mother had known, seeing if anyone had heard any news about her. She didn't expect to find anything that Overwatch couldn't, but she still had to try.

A year passed. The Ministry of Defence declared her mother to be officially dead. Shortly afterwards, Overwatch collapsed. There'd been some kind of black ops segment of it, and the UN was going to close them down over it. Before that could happen, a bomb destroyed their headquarters, killing Gabriel, Jack, and a host of others. Overwatch was finished. She was never going to be a member, and she was never going to be able to find her mother. She didn't have the resources to do it on her own. She'd never know what had happened to her.

On the second anniversary of her mother's disappearance, she received a letter. Her mother was alive Fareeha didn't know where she was, didn't have any means to contact her, didn't know if she'd ever see her again. Still, she was alive, and that was enough for her, even if she couldn't tell anyone else.

~

It was approaching evening when they got back to the base, and most of the group headed to the mess hall once they gotten off the dropship. Lena hung around with them for a bit, grabbing a bite to eat, watching her mother head off in search of Angela and Zarya, and chatting with her girlfriend. She tried to convince Lena to accompany her to Winston's office, but she laughed, adamant that she wasn't going to do anything but eat for the next hour. Eventually, she gave up, and headed upstairs by herself.

She found the scientist at his desk, going through something on his computer as she walked in. She was always surprised by how sparse his actual office was. A few photos of the old Overwatch crew on the wall, one on the desk of the man who'd raised him on the moon base, and nothing else in the way of personal effects. The only other thing that could really identify this place as being Winston's was the massive stack of completely empty peanut butter jars in the corner, something that seemed to grow each time she visited.

“Winston?” He looked up from his desk, a smile spreading across his face as he walked around it to greet her. “I got a quick bite to eat, but I'm here now. What is it you wanted to talk about?” He pulled a seat over for her, and squatted across from her, still smiling warmly.

“I want you to be our next Strike Commander.” Fareeha stared at him, sitting stock still as he grinned at her. “I've been thinking about this for a while. I've been doing my best to lead us since we came back together, but I'm not suited to the task. The administrative work is well within my wheelhouse, but I'm not a leader. You are.” She kept staring, trying to figure out how she should respond. This was everything she could have dreamed of when she was growing up, and it didn't feel entirely real that it was actually happening.

“Are you sure? I mean, I'm honoured that you'd want me for this, but there are more senior people here. Jack. Reinhardt. My mother.” Winston stood up, shaking his head and starting to pace in front of her.

“Reinhardt's a good man, but he's never wanted to be a leader. As for Jack and Ana, they were the leadership with the original Overwatch. They were in charge during the years when it collapsed. I think they're good people, and if they didn't have that baggage over them, I'd consider them for it, but they do.” He stopped speaking, looking over at her with a serious look on his face. “The new Overwatch needs new leadership. We need a leader who embodies everything that can be good about us. That's you.” He smiled sadly, gazing at the pictures hanging on the wall. “There were too many compromises before. We were desperate to maintain some kind of peace after the end of the Crisis, even if it wasn't a good one. It was understandable after everything we'd gone through, but it wasn't the right call. It destroyed us.” Fareeha watched him, considering everything he'd said.

“I'll do it.” He turned back to her, a smile spreading across his face, and she couldn't help but return it. “It's an honour that you've thought of me for this, and I'd have to be a fool to turn it down. I just hope I can live up to what you're expecting.” Winston stretched out a hand, shaking hers gently when she stood to grab it, before heading back behind his desk.

“I trust you. Everyone here trusts you. We'd follow you anywhere, Commander.” He grinned, flicking through the papers on his desk. “We'll need to get you the uniform sorted before we have a ceremony. The jacket's going to be the major issue, but I'm sure we'll be able to sort something out.” Fareeha raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him.

“Really? We're basically a gang at this point. A good gang, but still. A ceremony for declaring me the leader of this bunch of criminals seems a bit much.” He grinned at her, setting the papers back on the desk for a moment.

“This is important. You're going to be directing what happens with Overwatch from now on. What kind of organisation we become. Maybe it'll be the same as last time, and eventually we'll burn out again. But I think you'll do better. I have faith in you.” She felt her face start to heat up, smiling down at the ground and hoping that he wouldn't notice. “If you have some time, I could go over the details about what you'd have to be doing in the role. I'll be handling most of the administrative stuff, but there's still going to be plenty for you to do.” She nodded, walking round the table and looking over his shoulder as he went over the paperwork in front of him. Eventually, he looked up at the clock and shot up with a start, hurriedly sweeping her out of the room, telling her that she should go see Lena. She started to ask why, but all he said was that it was a surprise, and shut the door in her face, leaving her alone.

Fareeha started down the hall, confused about what Lena could possibly have been planning with Winston as she headed back to her room. Still, even as she was racking her brain trying to think about what it could be, she couldn't get the thought of being Strike Commander to leave her mind. This was everything she'd dreamed of since she'd been a kid, everything she'd given up on after…

She shook her head, banishing the thought from her mind. This was a happy moment, and she wasn't going to dwell on memories that didn't matter anymore. She kept heading down the hall, wondering where they were going to get a uniform, before groaning with frustration as she realised that she was almost certainly going to have to give some kind of speech. The act itself wasn't the problem; she'd done enough public speaking that the thought of it didn't even make her nervous any more. No, the problem was going to be writing it. Days and days of starting and deleting, unsatisfied with each and every iteration, till she finally managed to make something that she didn't absolutely loathe. She continued down the hall, thinking of who on the base would be best to turn to for help with it, when she entered her room, the sight before her removing all such thoughts from her mind. Lena was lying on her bed, naked but for a thong, smirking in the dim light cast by the candles around the room.

“Congratulations on the promotion. Now come get your reward.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are lots of different procedures for dealing with when someone goes missing, and when to declare them dead, and it took quite a bit of work to find a source on what happens in Egypt. I won't claim to be an expert on it, but it was interesting reading about it.
> 
> Also, there's smut in the next part. Getting back to what I'm somewhat decent at.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here be smut.

Fareeha had hoped that everyone would be here to meet her, seeing as that had been the original plan. She'd been accepted into university, and her mother had wanted to throw a party for her at the Zürich to celebrate it. By the time she'd arrived though, everyone had been called off on an emergency mission, and aside from the guards stationed around the outside, she was going to be left almost entirely alone until they got back. In a way, it was cool. She'd never really had the run of one of these places before, not without someone breathing down her neck about where she could and couldn't go. In another, much more real way, it was incredibly boring. She could have stayed at home if she wanted to read books, play video games and work out.

She sank down into the sofa in the common area, groaning and chucking a book onto the table in front of her. It was her third day here, and she'd already finished every book she'd brought with her, not expecting to have as much free time as this. She wanted to have this party. She wanted to see everyone, to hang out one last time before university, but more than anything else, she wanted to give her mother less of an excuse to come visit her after she'd started. She was looking forward to finally finding a girlfriend, and that was hard enough without all the gay girls talking about how much of a crush they had on her mother. She heard a noise from behind her, and turned to see the only other person who was on the base with her.

She'd seen talked to Amélie when she'd been to the base before, but hadn't made any effort this time. Amélie seemed to be involved in her own affairs, and Fareeha felt entirely too nervous about the prospect of annoying her. Today, however, she headed over to her after she entered the common room, a cup of coffee in hand and a smirk on her face.

“So, are you actually going to do anything while you're here, or are you just going to spend all of your time festering on that sofa?” Fareeha felt her face heat up, having neither showered or changed out of her pyjamas today, which suddenly seemed grossly inadequate in Amélie's presence. She knew how much work it took to look that effortlessly pretty, even if she was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and she couldn't help but be impressed that she still did it when there was no one around to do it for. She kept staring at her face as she sat down on the sofa next to her, taking in every detail. For the most part, her makeup was muted, not particularly noticeable against her brown skin, but her lips were a bright orange, drawing her eyes till she spotted them twitching up at the corner. She turned down to the floor, closing her eyes and feeling her ears burn as she heard a soft chuckle from the seat next to her. “Was there something on my face?” Fareeha heard the teasing edge to her voice, and flopped back, holding in a groan.

“No. I was just thinking that your lipstick looked good. All your makeup, really. Seems a lot of effort when there's no one here, though.” She saw Amélie smirk again from the corner of her eye, running a hand through her short hair.

“Well, I don't think you count as no one.” She felt heat flare through her cheeks again, praying that Amélie wouldn't notice a blush rising to them. She knew she was engaged, but it never felt good to embarrass herself in front of a pretty woman. “Anyway, I do this for me, no one else. I like looking good. Though it always feels nice to have someone who can appreciate it.” Fareeha nodded, trying desperately to contain another groan as she saw the toothy grin that was flashed at her. “Anyway, you didn't answer my first question. Do you actually have any plans, or are you just going to stew here till everyone comes back?”

“Well, I wouldn't describe it as stewing, but I don't have any plans, no.” She looked up at the ceiling, twiddling her thumbs in her lap, trying to distract herself from how gorgeous Amélie was. “Beyond seeing my mother, I really didn't have any plans for this trip. It's probably going to be the last time I can come here before university starts, and so far it's a bust.” She really had been looking forward to this. It had been almost a year since she'd last been on a base, and nearly 3 months since she'd seen her mother. Everything had been too busy, and she didn't know when she'd get another chance for this. “What about you? How are you filling your time by yourself?” Fareeha saw a grin flash across her face as she sipped her coffee, and she sighed before answering.

“Well, I've been getting some photos ready for a gallery, but seeing as I've got plenty of time to get that done, I decided to come talk to you. It was just getting too sad to see you all by yourself for a third day in a row.” She leaned forward, smirking as she set down the coffee and edged slightly closer to her. “I was thinking that we could hang out. Celebrate you getting into university. Something fun so you don't have to keep moping about.” She could feel heat coming off of Amélie's legs as they nearly brushed against her, and gulped before answering.

“OK. That sounds good. Not really sure what there is for two people to do though.” She watched her rest back against the sofa and chuckle, feeling her face start to burn.

“You leave that up to me. I'll think of something good while you go shower and put on some actual clothing.” Fareeha nodded, rushing off of the sofa, grateful for an excuse to leave and try composing herself.

~

It ended up being a surprisingly fun day once she had managed to get herself cleaned up and under control. Amélie had ended up putting on some films and getting drinks for the afternoon, and then they'd gone out and grabbed some dinner, making small talk and having more drinks. Fareeha learned that she was studying art, that she was doing freelance photography work, and that she was an incredibly sarcastic, cutting person. She also thought that she was being flirted with for the entire day, which was somewhat confusing, given how much she talked about her fiancé. Still, she was having fun anyway, and was happy enough to roll with it, not actually getting drunk enough to make any kind of stupid decision that would ruin the good mood.

Eventually, they ended up back at the base, and Amélie put some piano music on in the background while they watched the sun set through the windows, talking to her about the composer and how relaxing she found it. Fareeha kept glancing at her as she spoke, watching her wave her hands around, listening to the excitement in her voice, thinking about how beautiful she looked in the fading light. Eventually, she stopped, seemingly waiting for a reply, and she gulped, trying to think of something smart to say.

“It's really nice.” She heard Amélie giggle at her response, and turned down to the floor, groaning and feeling her face start to warm. “Look, I'm not great at talking about art and music. It's nice and it makes me feel happy listening to it.” She saw a smile creep across her face from the corner of her eye, and a wave of heat crashed through her body as she felt their legs brush together. “How long have you been with Gérard?” Fareeha tried to keep herself under control as she felt their knees brush together again, watching Amélie rest back on the sofa and stare up at the ceiling.

“A bit over a year. I've known him for longer though. He's an old friend.” She smiled softly, before looking back down at her, biting her bottom lip. “So, what about you? Any high school girlfriends travelling to university with you?” Fareeha shook her head and looked at the floor, wondering how she had picked up on that.

“No. It's kind of hard finding someone when everyone's got a crush on your mother.” Amélie chuckled, and she was sure that their legs were rubbing together much more deliberately now. “Is there a reason you asked about girlfriends and not boyfriends? You're not wrong, but I didn't think it was that obvious.”

“Well, you've been pretty blatant about staring at me and just about every other woman we've seen tonight. It was a bit of a clue.” Fareeha felt a flush of heat rise to her face as Amélie sighed, and swallowed hard as she moved closer to her, feeling their arms push together. “Anyway, I've gotten pretty good at spotting gay girls. It's just no fun when you hit on a straight one.” She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything to say as Amélie smirked, leaning in till their faces were almost touching. “So, what do you think of me going down on you to finish the night's celebrations?” She gasped as she felt their hands intertwined, feeling breath brush over her lips as Amélie leaned in even closer.

“What about Gérard? I thought...” She trailed off, watching a grin spread over Amélie's face.

“Of course. I should have explained. We're very open about these things. He has his other partners, and I have mine. Is that a problem?” Fareeha stared for a moment longer, before closing her eyes and pushing in for a kiss. Their teeth bumped together at first, and she worried that she was going to ruin the moment somehow, but Amélie took the lead, gently guiding her, stroking a hand along the side of her face before pulling back and smirking.

“You're so pretty.” Fareeha hadn't meant to blurt that out, but it was the truth. The light I the room was getting dimmer as the sun set, and she leaned back on the sofa, pulling Amélie down on top of her, running a hand along the side of her face and staring at her lips, bright orange standing out against her skin. “That's no problem. Nothing's a problem. I want this.” Amélie grinned wickedly at her, running a thumb along her bottom lip, dragging a whimper out of her as she leaned in closer.

“This is going to be so much fun.”

~

Fareeha stared at Lena, mouth hanging slightly open as she took everything in. She could see the head of her cock peaking out above her underwear, the tiny thong unable to properly hold it. She was laying on her side, propping her head up with her hand and lifting up a leg, making sure that Fareeha had a good view of everything when she walked into the room. She realised that the door was still hanging open, and shot inside, closing it behind her and blushing at her girlfriend started to giggle.

“How long have you been waiting there like that?” She walked over to the bed, watching Lena turn her body so that she always had a good look at it, letting go of the sheet she had bundled up in her free hand.

“Long enough that I had to pull this sheet over me pretty quick when Hana came in asking about playing some games. Gonna have to make that up to her later.” Fareeha stopped, a moment of second hand embarrassment coursing through her before she started laughing hard, hearing her girlfriend huff from the bed. “Honestly, I go to all this effort and you're just gonna laugh at me? Seems like such a waste.” She tried to get her laughter under control as she sat on the edge of the bed, stroking a hand along Lena's leg and smiling up at her.

“Trust me, this isn't going to go to waste. It's just a pretty funny situation.” She shrugged of her jacket, taking a bit of pleasure at the way her girlfriend stared at her freshly uncovered arms, and crawled along the bed next to her. “Seriously, I was barely in that meeting for an hour. How did you manage to get all of this set-up and have someone else walk in before me?” Lena grinned, leaning in for a quick kiss and wrapping her arms round her.

“I am a determined and somewhat absent-minded person. I may have forgot that I had asked her about playing something tonight before Winston told me he was going to offer you the Strike Commander position when we got back.” Fareeha chuckled again, running a hand along her side and over resisting the temptation to tickle her. “So, did you take the job? Should I start calling you Commander?” The last word was purred, and she felt her face heat up slightly, squeezing Lena's side and grinning at her.

“I took it. And I suppose you can call me Commander if you want. That's up to you.” Lena grinned wildly, and pulled her in for a hug, giggling into her shoulder. Fareeha hugged her back, squeezing her tight and kissing along her the side of her neck, hearing her giggles turn to quiet moans as she gently sucked on her skin. She gently pushed Lena onto her back, straddling her and pulling her head back, staring down at her hungrily. “There was some mention of a present?” She sat up more, running her hands up her lover's chest, squeezing her small breasts, thumbing over the scar running down her sternum and drawing another moan from her mouth.

“It's not fair if I'm the only one naked.” Fareeha grinned down at her, giving her breasts another quick squeeze, before letting go, watching Lena pant as she lifted her top up, pulling it off and throwing it to the side. Suddenly, her girlfriend shot up, quickly undoing the clasp on her bra and pulling it off. “You should lay down. Let me undress you.” She smirked, sliding off of her girlfriends legs and laying next to her, watching her lick her lips as she stared down at her bare breasts. She loved the way that Lena looked at her body, the hunger that appeared in her eyes whenever she got a glimpse of her muscles. “That's good,” she whispered, unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them down slowly, leaving a trail of kisses down her legs. She slipped them off her feet, pulling her socks of with them before kissing her way back up, slipping her fingers into the top of her boxers and grinning up at her.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Fareeha stared down at her, heat building between her legs as Lena slowly pulled them down, kissing her at the top of her thighs, drawing a soft groan from her lips as she sucked hard on her skin, doing the same as she travelled down her leg once again, seemingly intent on leaving marks where no-one else would see them. Eventually, her boxers were thrown to the side, and her girlfriend climbed back up her body, straddling her waist and grinning down at her. Fareeha lifted a hand to her face, pulling her in for a kiss, pushing her tongue against her lips as she rolled her over onto her back, feeling her lean legs tighten around her waist as she pulled back and licked her lips, looking down at her.

“What do you want to do?” Lena was already breathing hard, and they'd barely even started yet. Fareeha couldn't help but giggle at her, nuzzling her face into her neck and pushing their bodies together. She felt her girlfriend's hard cock push against the lips, and she held back a small moan, suddenly having an idea.

“I know you don't like penetration, but what if I just rubbed myself over your cock? No going inside, just me grinding against it?” She saw her girlfriend open and close her mouth a couple of times, taking a moment to think of a response before a massive smile spread over her face.

“That sounds hot.” Fareeha grinned, grabbing her panties and slipping them down enough to set her length free, before pushing herself down on top of it, feeling it press against her folds. She leaned her head down, her body arched to maintain contact as she kissed Lena roughly, pushing her tongue against her lips as she started to shift her hips back and forth, rubbing the length of her cock over her lips.

It felt good. Great. Every time she pushed back, she felt the head of her girlfriend's cock pushing against her clit, heard Lena hiss and sigh beneath her as a fresh wave of heat washed up from her centre. She started kissing down her jaw, moving to her neck and sucking hard on her skin, biting down gently and drawing a moan from her lover. She felt hand move down to her ass, squeezing it tight and pulling her down harder.

“You're so wet.” Lena was whimpering under her, gripping her hair tight and pulling Fareeha into her shoulder, moaning her name as she bit into it, sucking hard on her skin. She started to buck her hips up into her body, grinding into her faster, groaning into Lena as heat started to pulse through her body. “I'm so close,” she whimpered, bucking her hips and pulling hard on her hair.

“Cum for me,” Fareeha whispered, slipping and hand between them and pinching her nipple hard, moving her to her collarbone and nipping it gently. She heard a moan escape Lena's throat as she bucked up into her, clutching at her back, pushing her hand against her muscles. Finally, she screamed her name, and Fareeha whispered into her ear as she felt cum shoot against her stomach, telling her how good she was till Lena sighed, falling back down onto the bed, sighing happily. She moved off of Lena, rolling onto her back and grinning at her as she ran a finger through the cum sticking to her abs, watching Lena stare hungrily at her.

“That was… wow.” Fareeha chuckled, reaching a hand over to cup her face, running it over her lips. “Did you finish?” She shook her head, gently pulling Lena over for a kiss, grinning as she cuddled into her side.

“I was close. Still, I think I need to be cleaned up before we go any further.” She smirked as Lena grinned at her, resting back on the bed and watching her girlfriend start to kiss down her chest, sucking hard on her nipples and pushing a hand between her legs. She moaned as a finger slipped through her folds, running up to her clit and running a circle round it while her mouth kept kissing down her stomach.

“You're so fucking hot,” Lena moaned, licking up cum from her abs, and Fareeha shuddered as she watched her go lower and lower, threading her fingers through her short, brown hair and pushing her down. Finally, once she'd licked everything up from her stomach, she moved down, licking around labia and the tops of her thighs, drawing more moans from her as she teased around her pussy.

“Stop teasing me,” she murmured, closing her yes and letting her head fall back onto the pillow, sucking in her breath as she felt a tongue drag up through her labia, pushing inside of her. She could hear her girlfriend moaning between her legs, talking about how good she tasted, and she squeezed her thighs tight round her head, pulling hard on her hair. “You're so good,” she moaned, gasping when she felt two fingers push into her, curling up inside of her while Lena's lips closed around her clit, sucking on it while her tongue circled it.

Her back arched as her pleasure started to peak, free hand clutching at the sheets as her muscles started to tighten, heat radiating from between her legs, sweat pouring from her body. Finally, Lena sucked hard on her clit, and she screamed her name, her vision going white behind closed eyes as her orgasm crashed through her. She felt her Lena's tongue keep working between her legs, dragging her orgasm on as her muscles started to ache. Gradually, she started to come down, feeling strong licks turn to gentle kisses as she relaxed back onto the bed, panting heavily, the air suddenly feeling cool against her skin.

“So, have you finished now?” She heard Lena giggling as she crawled back up her body, leaving a trail of gentle kisses leading up to her mouth before cuddling her tight and nuzzling into her neck. Fareeha nodded, kissing the top of Lena's head and wrapping her arms tight around her.

“That was excellent. You were excellent.” She stroked along her back, feeling her heat pressing down on top of her, and sighed as she slid off and cuddled into her side. “This has been such a good day. I'm struggling to take it all in.” Lena giggled, turning her head up to kiss her, and Fareeha felt her face flush as she tasted herself on Lena's lips, getting even hotter as she watched her suck on her fingers.

“You certainly managed to take something in.” She looked at her for a second, mouth hanging open, before closing her eyes and groaning, hearing her girlfriend laugh loudly before burying her head into her chest. “You deserve every good thing that's happening to you. You're amazing, and there's no one better to lead us.” Fareeha opened her eyes and smiled down at her, kissing her forehead gently and stroking a hand through her hair.

“I love you so much,” she whispered, cuddling her tight and sighing. She let her fingers drift over her girlfriends chest, tracing the scar that ran down her sternum, staring at the blue light coming from under her skin. She didn't know that she'd ever properly thanked Winston for working on that implant. It made Lena's life so much easier, even if it needed to be checked on every few weeks.

“I love you too. Now, I think I should maybe finally take advantage of the fact that we have a proper bath now and clean myself off properly.” She pushed herself off the bed slowly, and Fareeha ran her eyes over her body, licking her lips as she stood in front of her. “Maybe you'd like to join me? Unless you have some other plans, of course.” Lena smirked as she walked towards the bathroom, and Fareeha watched her for a moment before jumping out of bed and following her in, grinning as her girlfriend start to get hard again. They had the whole night together. No point wasting it.


	4. Chapter 4

It hadn't been a great day. She'd come back to base to tell her mother she was joining the army now that she was out of uni, and it had ended up turning into a massive argument. Ana telling her how she was throwing away what she'd learned, Fareeha shouting about how much good she could do. It had went on for a while, and eventually she'd marched out, tired of having to defend her life choices from someone who'd gone on pretty much the exact same path.

She'd wandered around the base for a while, trying to think of somewhere she could go to be alone, eventually making her way to the roof. It was one of the few places where no one was going to run into her by accident, so it was a surprise when she heard someone climb up onto it behind her. She turned and sighed, seeing Jesse pull himself to his feet, brushing himself up and walking over to her.

“So, that didn't go well, huh?” Fareeha turned back round, staring out at the desert surrounding the base as her friend sat next to her. They hadn't seen each other much over the past 3 years of university, but they'd still kept in touch. She actually told him about heading into officer training before her mother, if only because she though he'd react better than she would.

“That's one way to put it.” She sighed again, glancing over and spotting Jesse pull a joint from his jacket, lighting up and taking a drag. “I didn't really expect a great reaction, but I was hoping that at least it wouldn't turn into a fight.” He nodded, passing it over and slowly exhaling a trail of smoke.

“I mean, I've seen her get into way bigger arguments with folk around here, so in wasn't really too bad in the grand scheme of things.” She shook her head, taking a slow drag and holding it deep before passing it back to him, gradually letting it drift out, watching smoke rise into the sky above her. “She's probably worried about you getting hurt. You guys have lost a lot of people in the army.”

She remembered when her aunt had died. She couldn't remember a time when the woman wasn't a part of Overwatch, but apparently her mother had been the first there. Farah had joined up later, insistent that her little sister wouldn't be saving the world by herself. She couldn't remember a lot about her, and it felt bad sometimes, but she never really got much of a chance to know her. She was funny, though. Tall and strong and funny. The memory that stuck, though, was coming home from school when she was six, and finding her grandmother sobbing, clutching a photograph of her aunt, surrounded by neighbours. Her mother had been hospitalized by whatever it was that had killed Farah, lost her eye, and she wouldn't talk about it afterwards.

“That's exactly why she doesn't want me to join. We've got a family history of dying in service of our country.” She tilted her head back, staring up at the stars and chuckling as her hands started to feel heavy, a soft, pleasant high overtaking her. “She thinks we've spilled enough blood for the world. That we should get to stop fighting at some point.”

“What do you think?” She turned her head to Jesse, watching him stare at her, and starting to giggle, which seemed to set him off as well. “Seriously, you've got a lot of choices. Why the army?” Fareeha went silent for a moment, turning to look at the desert again. There were faint noises coming from it, animals crying out in the night.

“I want to be a hero. I want to be like my mum, even if she doesn't.” She could feel Jesse looking at her, and sighed softly, turning her head up to the sky. “I don't care what she wants for me. I'm going to do what makes me happy, and she's going to have to live with that.”

“She'll come around.” She turned to him, taking the joint from him and having a final drag before chucking it on the roof. “She just needs some time. She'd been proud of everything you've done. This'll be no different.” Fareeha chuckled to herself, laying back and counting the stars.

“You're probably right. Just wish we didn't have to fight about it first.” She started to stand, giggling softly at the heaviness overtaking her limbs. “I'm gonna go watch a movie. You want to join me?” Jesse nodded, trailing behind her her as she headed off the roof.

~

A couple of weeks had passed since the fight, and Fareeha hadn't talked to her mother much since then. Common courtesies when they bumped into each other, but nothing more. She was going to be heading off to Egypt soon, get ready to start her training, and she was spending a final night on the roof. She didn't know when she'd get another chance to come back here, and she was going to miss this view. She heard someone climb up behind her, and turned, surprised to find that it wasn't Jesse again.

“Fareeha.” Ana stood there, outlined by the moonlight as she slowly walked across to her. “I wanted to talk to you before you left.” She watched her mother sit down next to her, a soft sigh escaping from her. “I hope I haven't made this visit too unpleasant for you.” Fareeha scratched her head, feeling her warm with slight embarrassment.

“I probably haven't made it any better for you, to be honest.” She heard her mother chuckle softly, and smiled to herself, still staring out across the desert.

“Good to know that neither of us has been enjoying this.” She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and turned to see her mother smiling softly at her. “I'll support you in anything you do Fareeha, even if it's not what I was hoping for. I want you to know that.” Fareeha smiled back at her, lifting a hand to squeeze the hers gently.

“That means a lot.” She sighed, turning up to the sky, staring at the stars carpeted across it. “It wasn't going to change my mind either way. I wasn't waiting for approval. Still, it's nice to know that you've got my back.”

“I'm not going to pretend that I'm happy with this, but I'll always be here for you.” Fareeha felt her mother push against her side, wrapping an arm round her and squeezing tight. “It's not just the danger, as much as that scares me. It's...” She watched Ana look down at her knees, feeling her hand gently rub along her shoulder. “After Farah died, it was hard for me to talk to anyone for a long time. Hard to find someone I felt comfortable talking to. I want you to know that I understand what happens. I've been through it, and there won't be any judgement from me. Just get in touch whenever you need to talk, and I'll be here for you.” Fareeha smiled softly, resting her head against her mother's shoulder and hugging her back.

“Thank you. For everything.” She turned her eyes to the sky, watching the faint lights of planes flying in the distance. “Do you want to stay here for a while? I don't know when I'll be able to come back here, and it'll be nice to just take in the view with you one last time.” She felt a gentle kiss against her cheeks, and heard her mother chuckling next to her as her shoulder was squeezed tight.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Fareeha.”

~

Fareeha woke up stiff, sticky, and being poked in the face by her girlfriend, who was reminding her that she had to come out and get the food shipment with them. She groaned her way out of bed and through her shower, eventually throwing herself into the van, where she was sandwiched between Lena and Zarya, which was a position she couldn't really bring herself to complain about. The fact that Zarya was currently dating her mother and her childhood crush did make the fact that she still had a small crush on her feel a bit weird, but there wasn't really a lot she could do. What sensible person wouldn't have a crush on her?

Fareeha felt Lena nuzzle her head into her side, and chuckled, turning her head to gaze out the window as their pink haired friend drove them along what was, for the most part, a completely empty road. Admittedly, most of the bases they ended up in were surrounded by empty land, with maybe a small town a few hours drive away. It had been a deliberate choice during the Crisis: keep places at risk of attack as far away from civilian populations as possible. Now, it made it a lot easier to hide in them unnoticed, and a lot harder to get hold of food or other supplies. Still, it did offer the chance for rides like this, staring out as the horizon whizzed by, watching over the rolling hills and scrub. Occasionally, she spotted a rusting omnic laying in the grass, a reminder of what had happened in places like this.

“Holy shit Zarya!” Fareeha snapped out of her trance, looking down to see her girlfriend gawking across her chest, following her gaze to Zarya. She'd leaned down to scratch her leg, lifting up the hem of her jeans, and was looking confusedly at Lena as her new Strike Commander got an eyeful of the two massive lovebites on her calf. “Seriously, how did you get marks like that down there?” Her face suddenly flushed, and she covered up her leg again quickly, staring out at the road and not saying anything for a moment. Fareeha could hear her girlfriend laughing hard into her chest, and felt herself start to blush, not having any desire to learn more about her mother's sex life than she already had. She still wasn't entirely over walking in on her and Zarya together, even if it was something she could laugh at now.

“Angela can get enthusiastic.”

“Well, that's not surprising. Does Ana get enthusiastic as well?” Fareeha quickly elbowed Lena's side, glaring at her as she continued to laugh.

“Can't think how she would have left those marks,” Zarya muttered, rubbing her hair and grinning out at the road.

“That's nice, but maybe we can avoid talking about my mother's sex life in too much detail.” Lena continued to giggle into her chest, and she heard a cough coming from the driver's seat, turning her gaze to see Zarya's grin get a bit wider.

“Of course. Whatever you want, Commander.” Fareeha rolled her eyes, resting her head back against the seat and sighing. “We should do something to celebrate. Any ideas, Lena?” She felt fingers drumming on her stomach, before Lena shot up in her seat with a shout.

“Piercings!” Fareeha turned to her with a confused look on her face, while Zarya chuckled next to her. “Seriously, having my accelerator on all the time really messed with my piercings. Earrings were fine, but the accelerator really tugged at my nipple bars. Sometimes I'd jump and they'd just get yanked out.” She couldn't stop her self from wincing at the thought of it, and heard Zarya gag next to her. “I haven't had a single unintended skip with this implant, so honestly, I figure it's time to get some piercings again. What do you guys think?”

“I like it. Been looking to get my nipples done. Maybe my belly button. Weightlifting team weren't keen on it, and I didn't really think about it much after the army. How about you, Commander?” She sighed again, gently punching Zarya in the side and draping an arm over Lena's shoulders.

“You don't have to call me Commander all the time. But yeah, that sounds like a decent idea.” She saw Lena fist pump from the corner of her eye, and gave a small smile and she linked her fingers behind her head. “If you guys really wanted to do something for me, you'd help me with my speech.”

“Nope. Not my thing. Not good at it.” She turned to Zarya, raising an eyebrow questioningly. “Seriously, if you want a bad speech, I'll help, but that's all you'll get out of me.”

“Just tell everyone how you wanna run it. What you want us to be.” Lena had gone back to resting her head against Fareeha's chest, and she could feel a hand running lazily over her stomach.

“It's not that easy. This is me setting the tone for what Overwatch is meant to stand for. An organisation that saved the world, and I've got to tell people who ran it how I'm going to do it better.” She felt a large hand slap down on her shoulder, gripping it tight.

“They screwed it up. I love your mother, but whatever she was doing, whatever the rest of them were doing, it wasn't the right thing. You'll find the correct path. I believe in you.” She felt her cheeks heat up as Zarya smiled warmly at her, and felt Lena's hand take hold of hers, their fingers intertwining.

“I trust you, and there's no one with us right now who wouldn't follow you. Just believe in yourself.” Fareeha squeezed her hand, smiling softly down at her girlfriend. Sometimes it was hard to believe how lucky she was.

“Thanks. That means a lot.” She rested her head back, closing her eyes and sighing. “Right then. We get the food, get some piercings if there's somewhere to do them, then head back and work on my speech. Sound good?” She felt Lena kiss her cheek while Zarya gave a cheer, and couldn't help but grin. This was turning out to be a good day.

~

Lena had ended up with a tongue piercing, and as such, wasn't much help when it came to talking over her speech when they got back. She still did her best, though, running back and forth and fetching her books she wanted to look over while Zarya talked about films she thought they could pull good quotes from. Eventually, the two of them had gone to bed, leaving her to pore over a few stories before she joined them. Just as she was putting them to the side, she heard a noise behind her, and turned to see Jesse standing in the door of the meeting room she'd spent the evening in.

“Figured I should come and give you my congratulations.” He went to tip a hat that wasn't there, and chuckled as he walked over, sitting across the table from her. “I hear that we're gonna have a new Strike Commander. Seems she's already getting some work in.” She smiled weakly at him, setting the last of the books to the side and grabbing her notes.

“Just trying to write out a speech. Don't know for certain that I'll have to give one, but it's probably better to be prepared.” He nodded, lifting up one of books she'd set down and grinning at the cover.

“This was Reinhardt's, right?” She nodded, and he rubbed his head, still smiling down at it. “I knew it. ʻThe Last Wish.ʼ He loved these. Didn't know you were a fan, too.” She gave a quick grin back, watching as he set it back on the pile.

“I read through that series when I was about 16, but I came back to that one a lot. Reinhardt did too, judging by the number of notes he left in it.” Jesse started laughing at that, running a hand through his hair.

“Gabe always hated that. Said he could never give him a books he actually liked because they'd get vandalised.” Fareeha chuckled softly, remembering the two of them having silly little arguments like that. They'd been the longest running couple in Overwatch. It had been nice having them around. Hopeful, in a way. “Morrison never really gave a damn about writing notes on them, but he always told Reinhardt to organise them better. Have specific highlighters for different kinds of quotes. I don't know what Reyes hated more.” He looked up at her, still smiling as she started to yawn. “Y'know, I'd be happy to help you out with this speech if you want. I can remember enough of Morrison's that I could probably give you some pointers if you wanted to do something different.”

“Thanks, but I've already got some people helping me.” He nodded, standing up with her and following her to the door. She stopped, looking back at him, feeling her stomach clench slightly as he smiled at her. Moments like that could make her swear he hadn't changed over the past seven years. “Things are a bit weird between us right now, right? Do you feel it too?” He stopped, staring at her before sighing and nodding again. “I don't want them to be. It's just… when my mother disappeared, I tried to get in touch with you. I wanted to talk about things, and you weren't there. It hurt. I know you had your reasons, but it still hurt.” She turned down the hall, and felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder.

“I couldn't stay there any longer. Not with how things were going. I would have got in touch with you, but I didn't know how. I'm sorry.” An awkward silence hung between them, and Fareeha coughed, feeling her neck start to heat up. “This is gonna get better, right?” She looked back, smiling stiffly and shrugging.

“I don't know. I hope so. Things got better with my mother, even if they're still a bit awkward sometimes. Can't see why they shouldn't get better with you.” He nodded again, looking away from her. “I'd like to start hanging with you again, if you want to. Watch some films. Have a few drinks. Stuff like that. It's just, I don't think I'm ready to have things go back to how they were. Not just yet. You understand?”

“Sure. I understand.” He smiled softly at her, waving as she headed off towards her room. “I'm always gonna be here if you need anything. Remember that.”

“Yeah, I know. See you, Jesse.”

“You too, Fareeha.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm entirely unsure how I feel about this, but I like the ideas even if I'm not big on the writing itself. Still, no point in not putting it out there, I suppose.
> 
> Also, Fareeha is absolutely a massive fantasy nerd. Just a stupendous one.

Finally, after a couple of weeks of planning, Winston was ready to have the ceremony. Hana had managed to get a tailor she knew to whip together a uniform quickly, and she'd only managed to return with it that day. PFareeha watched herself in the mirror as she put it on, surprised at how well it actually fit, tugging down at the lapel of her jacket and grinning. It wasn't something she'd be able to wear in the field, not with her Raptora armour, but it still felt good. She heard a low whistle behind her, and turned to smirk at her girlfriend.

“You are looking fantastic, luv.” Lena was done up in her nicest suit, a sky blue number that was cut tight to her frame. “Honestly, it's taking all of my willpower not to jump you right now.” Fareeha chuckled, walking over and leaning down for a kiss. She pushed her tongue against Lena's lips, hearing a slight moan escape her throat.

“So, you like a woman in uniform?” Lena smirked up at her, standing up and sliding her hands down her back, gripping her ass through her heavy combat trousers.

“I very much like a woman in uniform, Commander.” The last word was purred into her ear, and she felt a rush of heat through her body as she slipped a hand behind Lena's head, about to pull her in for another kiss when she heard a knocking at the door.

“Fareeha! Are you nearly ready?” Her mother had apparently decided to check up on her, and she pulled back from Lena with a quiet groan, biting her lip as she stared at her.

“I'll be out in a minute.” She took hold of Lena's hand, running her thumb over her knuckles and smiling. “We'll finish this later.” She turned to the door, opening it up and watching Ana's face light up when she saw her.

“It suits you wonderfully,” she said, pulling her in for a tight hug. “I'm so proud of you Fareeha.” She hugged her mother back, smiling warmly and gently kissing her forehead.

“Thank you. That means a lot.” She broke of the hug, feeling Lena take her hand and stand next to her. “So, should we head down to the hall?” Ana grinned up at her, smoothing down her suit jacket and starting to walk backwards along the hall.

“That sounds like a plan. They should have everything set up by now.” Ana smirked and turned round, marching off ahead of them as Fareeha squeezed Lena's hand tight.

“Nervous?” Fareeha looked down at her, biting at her lip.

“A little bit. It's understandable, I think.”

“It is. Still, you've got nothing to worry about. You're going to be great.” Lena slipped an arm through hers, and cuddled into her side as they walked down to the main hall. She heard noises from the other side of the doors, and stopped a moment in front of them, taking a breath before pushing them open.

Winston had gone to a lot of effort to get this all set up. There were enough chairs for everyone in front of a stage that Törbjorn was just finishing off, crawling out from underneath it ith a grin on his face. The rest of the crew were spread out around the hall, chatting with each other, turning their heads to her as she walked in with Lena by her side. They were all dressed up in suits or dresses, aside from Törbjorn, who was covered in grease and sweat, and grumbling about not being given enough time to set up the stage. Jack walked over to her, face mask gone, revealing the burns covering his face, and the wide smile underneath.

“Well, you certainly look the part.” He stuck a hand out, shaking hers firmly before giving a quick salute. “Feels weird for someone else to be Strike Commander. Still, I can't think of anyone here who's better suited for it.” She saluted back, smiling broadly. “It's an honour to have the chance to serve under you.”

“It's an honour to lead you.” He grinned back at her, before walking off to the chairs, sitting next to Reinhardt, who was waving vigorously at her. She waved back, and headed over to the front row, sitting down with Lena and waiting for things to get started. Zarya filed in next to her, followed by Angela and her mother. A large hand wrapped round her shoulders, squeezing her tight as Zarya told her how good she was looking. She felt a hand tap her shoulder, and turned to find Jesse sitting behind her, a massive grin on his face. Genji sat next to him, giving her a quick thumbs up before chastising him for wearing his hat with a suit. She turned back to the stage, giggling as Jesse asked him why he wasn't wearing a suit at all, and she heard the start of some argument about formal armour when Winston coughed into the microphone on stage, staring out at them.

“Hi there. Thank you all for being here on time.” He grinned out at them, wiping his forehead with his hand before continuing. “We've done a lot of good since reforming Overwatch. We've saved a lot of lives, and hopefully, we'll continue to do so in the future. But now, we need a leader. I've been doing my best, but this isn't what I'm good at. We all know some who would be though. Someone who embodies everything that could be good about us. Our new Strike Commander, Fareeha Amari.” She heard clapping and cheering around her, and stood up as Winston motioned to her, walking up on to the stage. She stood across from him, giving a salute before shaking his hand, smiling warmly. “You can give a few words if you want, but there's no pressure.” He spoke softly, making sure the others didn't hear, and she nodded, walking past him towards the mic. She stood in front of it for a moment, looking out at all of her friends, nerves threatening to overwhelm her before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Thank you all so much. It's truly an honour to lead you.” She opened her eyes again, and watched everyone sit still, waiting for her to continue, aside from McCree, who gave her a quick thumbs up. They'd ended up working together on this quite a lot more than she'd expected, even if he didn't know exactly what she was going to say.

“Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling. It's all the same. The degree is arbitrary, the boundaries blurred. If I'm to choose between one evil and another, I'd rather not choose at all.” She paused, watching for a reaction. Almost all of them were silent, but she saw her mother staring at her intently, and Reinhardt fighting back a grin. “Sometimes, it's tempting. You look at your options, and that's the smart choice. The path of least resistance. I know. I've been there.” She took another breath, closing her eyes, pushing down her creeping anger. “We can't let ourselves do that. We can't compromise with evil. Every time we choose a lesser evil, we push the line back a little bit farther. What we consider to be a lesser evil gets a little bit worse. We won't let that happen. Evil is never our only choice. We can always do good. It'll be hard, and sometimes it'll be awful for us, but we can always do good. I really believe that.” She smiled at them, pride welling up inside of her.

“This world needs heroes. The world needs us. I look at all of you, all the people I've been fighting alongside for the past year, and I know that there's no one I'd rather be here with.” She smiled down at Lena, and watched her girlfriend slowly smile back as claps started echoing throughout the hall. Lùcio climbed onto his seat, whooping and hollering as Zenyatta clapped quietly next to him, a spare hand trying to drag his boyfriend back to his seat. Bastion gave a little light show from the back, his shielding forming the image of a massive thumb pointing to the sky. Whistles came from Hana and Mei, Satya clapping hard next to them, and suddenly, she was lifted into the air by a massive pair of arms, Reinahrdt's laughter roaring into her ear.

“An excellent speech, Commander!” he bellowed, spinning her round before a blush overtook his face. “I'm sorry if that was inappropriate,” he muttered, placing her back on the ground as Jack started to chuckle next to him.

“A hug from you is never a problem, old man.” She grinned up at him as he rubbed his hair sheepishly, when another pair of much smaller hands gripped her from behind.

“That was excellent, luv.” She felt Lena's head pressing into her back, and reached down to take hold of her hand, rubbing circles over it with her thumb. “I told you it'd go great.” She looked down, watching her friends start to mill around the stage, Genji and McCree still clapping hard, and turned to properly embrace her girlfriend.

“When you're right, you're right.” Fareeha lifted a hand to cup her partner's face, smiling warmly as she leaned down for a kiss. It was sweet and wonderful, and if Fareeha could stayed there forever. Still, it ended, and she heard Winston behind her, coughing into the microphone.

“Well, now the speeches are out of the way, I think it's time we have a proper celebration. There's food and drink ready, but first, I'm going to need people to help me move these chairs out of the way.” She watched the gang start to push them to the side of the room, and felt a soft hand rest on her shoulder. Fareeha turned to see Angela smiling at her, and suddenly felt grateful that she had a girlfriend now. If she wasn't, she was sure she'd have been staring much more obviously at her plunging neckline.

“Come. You two should get first dibs on the food and drink.” She started to drag them through to the kitchen, patting Fareeha on the back as they went. “That really was a very good speech. Your mother certainly seemed to be impressed. Zarya too.” She felt her cheeks start to heat up slightly at the compliment, and Lena squeezed her hand again, grinning at her from the corner of her eye.

“What about you? Any thoughts?” Angela smiled softly at her as they entered the kitchen, and she almost felt like a teenager again at the sight of it.

“Doing no evil seems to be a good standard to aim for. If we can manage it, we'll be doing better than Overwatch was before.” She stated to walk out of the room, turning her head to them as she stood at the door. “I just hope this doesn't just mean going to war all the time. There's plenty we can do without resorting to violence.” Fareeha nodded, and she smiled warmly back at her. “That's good to know. I'll draft some ideas about the kind of relief operations we could do with our current setup. Let you look over them. For now though, I think we should enjoy the party. You've earned it.” Angela turned back and left the room, and Fareeha felt a nudge in her back, turning to find Lena grinning up at her.

“Someone's still nursing a crush.” She felt her cheeks heat up as she groaned, turning back to her girlfriend and glaring at her. “Hey, I don't blame you. Angela's hot. Thought the fact that she's going at it with your mum has got to make that feel weird, right?” Fareeha groaned again, pulling away from her and plating up some curry.

“This is how you talk to your new Commander?”

“This is how I talk to the woman I love.” She found herself suddenly pulled down for a long, gentle kiss, feeling Lena's tongue brush against her lips before she pulled back, smiling.

“You're so lucky I can't stay mad at you,” Fareeha chuckled, grabbing a beer to go with her food.

“That's not the only reason I'm lucky,” Lena laughed, grabbing another beer and moving close to her, letting her hand rest on her ass as they walked back out into the mess hall, letting the others move past and grab food of their own.

~

The party went incredibly well. Lùcio set up his decks on stage, taking song requests till Reinhardt asked for Hasselhoff, at which he suddenly lost all ability to hear through his headphones. Hana ended up setting up her own gaming corner, taking any challenger at the game of their choosing, getting increasingly drunk as she beat them all, claiming they needed to be given a headstart. Still, she needed to get a break after a while, and headed up to the roof with a beer in hand, watching Zarya and Angela slow dance as she left, smiling at the sight.

She could faintly hear music playing as she stared across the scrubland, watching the horizon glow orange as the sun set. They hadn't been at this base for too long, and they'd probably have to leave soon, but she was going to enjoy the view while she could. She slowly sipped on her beer, eye drawn to the shapes of destroyed omnics littering the landscape, and she didn't notice someone walking up behind her till they touched her shoulder, making her jump and yelp.

“Hope you don't mind some company, Fareeha.” She glanced over at her mother as she sat next to her, grinning and shaking her head.

“It's not a problem. I just needed some air.” Ana smiled across at her, gently rubbing her hand over her shoulder. “Did you like the speech? I'm kind of surprised at the reaction I got.”

“It was excellent. Sets a pretty definite standard for what you expect from us.” Fareeha felt her cheeks flush slightly as she grinned across at her mother, grateful that it wouldn't show at all on her face. “Reinhardt certainly seemed impressed. I'm guessing her recognised that line you started with.” She looked down at her knees, rubbing her hair while she listened to her mother chuckle.

“Well, might as well take good lines when you find them, right? Honestly, I'm kinda surprised that you remembered that.” She heard a scoff from next to her, laughing as she was shoved to the side lightly.

“So because I'm old I'm going to forget things? You know, you weren't the only one who loved that book. Reinhardt talked about it all the time. He was desperate to talk about it after I read it.” Fareeha kept laughing as her mother rested back on her hands, staring at the sky and sighing. “So, when did you choose the lesser evil? The path of least resistance.” Her laughter quietened, and she looked out in front of her, staring at the light sinking over the horizon. “That bad, huh?”

“I'd rather not talk about it.” She tilted her head back, running hers hands through her hair and closing her eyes with a sigh. “Maybe I will another time, but not today.” She didn't have the words for it. Even if she did, she wasn't sure she was ready to talk to her mother about it. Things had been getting better between them, and she could talk about some things with her, but not this. Her mother was too close to it.

“I'm here if you need to talk. I get what it's like. Sometimes, you do things you aren't proud of, but it can help to talk to someone who understands.” Fareeha opened her eyes, turning down to her mother and grinning weakly.

“I know. If I need to, I will. Just not tonight.” She turned back to the sky, and the two of them sat in silence for a while, watching the stars. It had been too long since she'd been able to sit with Ana like this, and she hadn't realised how much she'd missed it. Even if she couldn't bring herself to talk all the time, it was good to know that they'd still have these comfortable silences. Eventually, she heard movement next to her, and saw Ana stand from the corner of her eye, stretching her hands above her head and smiling.

“I'm getting too old to spend all night on the roof, even if I do enjoy the company.” Fareeha nodded, smiling at her mother as she started to walk away. “I think I'll head back down now. Maybe get a dance in with Angela and Zarya before all the slow songs are finished. Seems that you have someone else who wants to keep you company, anyway.” She looked behind her, and saw Lena sheepishly poking her head up above the top of the ladder. “Got to be quieter than that to sneak up on me, little one.” Her girlfriend grinned across at her as she clambered up onto the roof, her cheeks suddenly going red as Ana leaned in and whispered something in her ear, grabbing hold of her arm as Lena nodded. She glanced back, smiling softly before climbing down from the roof, leaving the two of them alone.

“What on earth did she say to you?” Fareeha laughed as she watched Lena shake her head vigorously, standing up and walking over to her.

“Nope. Not saying anything.” She kept laughing as Lena closed the distance between them, grabbing her hands and spinning around her.

“Trust me, it can't be any more embarrassing than the things she says to me. You know she told me to be gentle with you because nipples are really sensitive after they get pierced?” Lena looked up at her, momentarily dumbfounded, before collapsing into her chest with a fit of giggles. “Honestly, I think Zarya only shares things with her if she can use them to tease me.” Her giggles slowly died down, and she wrapped an arm around her waist and slowly smiled up at her.

“She told me she was grateful for how happy I made you.” Fareeha felt her face hear up again as Lena lifted herself up for a gentle kiss, and she wrapper her arms round her, squeezing their bodies tight together. “She might have also mentioned that I should be gentle with you for the same reason.” She sighed, hearing her girlfriend giggle into her chest as she looked up at the sky. There was still music floating up from the building beneath them, and she grinned as an idea came to her mind.

“Do you want to stay up here for a while? Maybe have a private dance?” Lena grinned up at her, standing up on her toes for another, longer kiss, brushing her tongue over Fareeha's lips and moving a hand to her hip.

“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Fareeha smiled down at her, moving a hand to her hip, squeezing it gently and slowly starting to spin her around, pulling their bodies close. “This has been a wonderful day, Commander.”

“It really has. And you really don't have to call me Commander, Lena.” She grinned mischievously up at her, letting a hand slide round her back and squeeze her cheek.

“Is it OK if I call you that in private?” Fareeha smirked down at her, pushing their bodies hard together and leaning down till their faces were almost touching.

“That sounds fine, darling. There, you can call me whatever you want.” Lena nodded, shooting up for another quick kiss before resting against her chest again, sighing softly.

“This has been a good night,” she whispered, and Fareeha smiled she felt a hand running up her back. She let her jacket fall open, and threw it around her girlfriend, shielding her from the wind and leaning in for a long, tender kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

She'd left Lena sleeping in bed, spending a moment to stare at the dawn light spilling over her face before heading out. There was nothing any of them needed to do today. No sense in not letting her rest, even if she felt the urge to be up and about. It seemed that she might be the only one. The base was deathly quiet as she walked through it, and stepped over bottles and paper plates that had been scattered throughout the halls. The party had ended up going into the early hours, long after Fareeha had taken Lena to bed. She thought she might have been the only one who wasn't still sleeping off the night before when she till she went into the common room and saw Zarya lounging over the sofa, drinking a bottle of fruit juice.

“Commander,” she saluted, shifting herself to a sitting position as Fareeha walked over. “Surprised you're up so early. Would have expected Lena to wear you out last night.” Fareeha rolled her eyes, reaching forward and grabbing the bottle from Zarya’s hand. She grinned across at her as she gulped it down, draining the last of it with a gasp.

“I went to bed before any of you. Had plenty of time to tire myself out and still get enough sleep.” Zarya barked a laugh, slapping her on the shoulder as she stood up. “What about you? Last I saw you were still on the floor with my mother and Angela. You're pretty fresh for someone who was going so hard.” She stretched her arms above her head, stretching and smiling down at her.

“What can I say? I'm a morning person. Though not drinking probably helps as well.”

“Oh yeah. Sometimes I forget about your sobriety when I watch you dance.” Zarya smirked at her, squatting down in front of her.

“I think you forget that I've seen you dance. You've got no grounds to criticize me.” She stood back up, stretching her legs to the side and flexing her arms over her head. “Anyway, you've got a girlfriend. Maybe you should spend less time staring at other women. Won't be good to make her jealous.” Fareeha felt her cheeks heat up slightly as she watched her flex, and stood up, shaking her head.

“You're acting like Lena isn't constantly ogling everyone on this base. If anyone should be jealous, it's me.” Zarya laughed again, low and warm, and Fareeha felt another flash of heat. It was a silly crush, and Lena had laughed it off when she'd mentioned it, saying that there wasn't anyone who liked women who didn't feel the same way. Still, it didn't make it feel any less weird for her. “Do you want to go for a walk with me? See if the hooligans I'm in charge of made any more of a mess than this.” Fareeha gestured at the rubbish strewn around them, and she nodded, smiling at her.

“Lead the way, Commander.” Zarya stepped aside, and she felt her fall in close behind her as she walked ahead, taking note of the various piles of rubbish dotted around the room. “I think that was Genji and McCree. Apparently they feel the need to tidy when they're completely wasted.”

“That certainly sounds like Genji, and hovering around Genji definitely sounds like something McCree would do.” She could still remember how much the cowboy had moped around when Genji had left. It had been one of the last times she'd been able to visit him before everything went to hell. She sighed, continuing to tour around, taking note of places that would have to be cleaned, chatting idly with Zarya. It was a surprisingly pleasant way to spend the morning. She hadn't had a lot of opportunities to be alone with her friend over the past couple of months, and she'd forgotten how much fun it was. Eventually, they ended up outside, and she felt a flood of relief when she saw that it wasn't in the same state as the inside.

“At least Mei won't be shouting at anyone,” Zarya muttered, resting against the wall. Fareeha grimaced at the memory of her roaring at them not to leave their rubbish around outside. It wasn't something she wanted to repeat any time.

“She did have a point. We need to take care of our environment. Just didn't expect her to be that scary.” Zarya chuckled again, watching as she leaned against the wall next to her, looking to be deep in thought. “Got something on your mind?”

“Did something happen with your mother last night? She seemed concerned when she came down from the roof.” Fareeha looked across at her, then turned to the ground with a sigh.

“It was nothing. She was just asking about things I didn't want to talk about with her.” Zarya nodded, and she smiled softly when her friend didn't press her. Still, she thought she might be able to talk about this, as long as she wasn't the first to share something. “Why did you leave the army?” She looked at her for a moment, worrying at her lip, before looking to the sky with a grimace.

“At first, I couldn't trust the people I was fighting for any more. I'd heard rumours about higher-ups in the military looking to use the new omnic crisis as an excuse to annex some countries. Use people like me as propaganda to get people to join up. Convince them that it was the only way to be a true patriot.” She spat out the word, grimacing at the sky. “I love my country, and I hate it. We keep repeating the same mistakes, letting the same bastards take charge. We need to get good people in there. I thought Katya could be the one.” She stopped talking, and Fareeha reached over, gripping her arm gently.

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand.” Zarya turned to her, smiling softly at her.

“It's fine. I think you should know.” She stopped again, staring out across the horizon before starting again. “Katya organised against the nationalists. Kept them from getting any real influence. It worked. The bastards won't even dare to voice their opinions anymore. People love her. Love the Volskaya family. I… she and I were close.” Fareeha could see the hurt in her eyes, and gave her arm another gentle squeeze. Let her know she was still there. “I got some information one day. A dead drop with a note, saying that it was something that would interest me. There'd been an attack on Katya not long before that. Someone had got close to her, and she'd asked me to try and find them. I thought it might be related to that. Instead, I find out she was working with the omnics.” She moved closer to Zarya, leaning into her side and squeezing her arm tight.

“What did you do?”

“I confronted her. Told her I had a right to know what she was planning. She disagreed.” She sighed again, closing her eyes and letting her head tip back. “I didn't know what to do after that. I know that they're not all bad, but then, all I could see was the woman who saved our country working with the things that were trying to destroy it. I wasn't going to go public with it, give the bastards she'd forced out a chance to get back in, but I couldn't keep working for her either. Not if I didn't know what I was working towards.”

“So how did you end up here?”

“Same as most of us, I guess. Winston got in touch. Don't know how he knew I was looking for a way out, but her offered me one. Told me what we were going to be doing. Told me why. So I came. It was nice to know the game I was playing.” She sighed again, the corners of her mouth twitching as she looked at the sky. “If she needs my help, I'll probably go back. I owe her that much. I think she's managing fine without me, though.” Zarya turned to her, a grin spreading across her face as she took hold of her hand and squeezed it tight. “So, what about you? What made you leave?” Fareeha looked up at her, feeling her stomach get heavy with dread before pushing it away. She needed to do this. Needed to tell her friend.

“Things had been going well. I enjoyed the work, liked the people I worked with. Thought we were doing something good, keeping my country safe. One day, a cop comes to me. Some kid, new on the force. Says they picked up someone and dropped him off at the base a couple of weeks back, and he'd turned up dead. Guy owned some buildings used by activist groups. Ran some businesses as well. He'd heard it on the news, thought they must have made some kind of mistake. Tried to check in to see if he was still with us, and there was no record of him ever being there.” Zarya looked down at her, and Fareeha felt her hand get squeezed a little tighter.

“Did you find out what had happened?”

“Looked into it a bit more. Kept it quiet. Turned out the guy had been tortured before he'd been killed. So, I tried to find out if there were any other people in the area who'd died in similar ways. There weren't many, but there were enough to notice a patten. Activists, anarchists, people who were causing problems for the government. I had a few friends in the police. Tried to get something out of them. Most of them told me I should drop it, but I finally learned that at least a few of the victims had been taken to the base too. Picked up on baseless charges and left with us.”

“Did you find them?” Fareeha closed her eyes and rested her head back, feeling the cool metal pressing against her.

“Yeah. It was hard not to. They were everywhere, infesting every level of the military. It wasn't just a problem in Cairo. It was all over the country. I could only think of one person to go too.” She smiled weakly at the thought, and felt an arm drape over her shoulder as Zarya hugged her close. “I'd known him since I was a kid. He'd been a friend of my mother. They'd come up through the ranks together. He was always someone I could trust, so I showed with everything I'd gathered. Hoped he'd be able to help me stop it.” She stopped, clenching her hands tight, feeling the anger start to bubble up in her. Anger at what they'd done. Anger at herself.

“You can stop. I know how this ends.”

“No. I've started. I need to finish.” She took a breath, holding it, trying to calm herself down. Getting worked up over it wouldn't do any good now. “He knew. He'd been one of the guys organising it. Said I had two choices. I could come forward with it and have my career destroyed, my name dragged through the mud, all for a fight I was going to lose. Or, I could walk away. Leave a decorated soldier. Get on with my life. He said it was a favour for my mother.” She opened her eyes, resting her cheek against Zarya's shoulder and watching the sun rise over the horizon. “I didn't have enough evidence. Didn't have any help. I couldn't see any way to win, and I was scared, so I left. Joined up with Helix. Couple of years later, and I'm joining Overwatch. You know the rest.” She heard her friend sigh next to her, felt a strong hand rubbing over her shoulder.

“There was nothing you could have done. There was no way for you to win.”

“And if we hit a situation like that again? Do we just let them get away with it? Do we not even try?” She felt her anger start to rise again, before it was suddenly quelled by the grin on Zarya's face.

“There won't be a situation like that again, because you won't be on your own.” Fareeha couldn't help but grin as her friend squeezed her tight, slipping her hand round her massive waist to do the same. “You can't beat things like that by yourself. You need people working with you. That's what you've got now. A whole team of heroes, ready to save the world with you.” Zarya smiled down at her again, and she felt her stomach flutter slightly at the sight.

“I've missed this. Just being close with you. It's been too long since we've just cuddled up like this.” She heard the her chuckle, feeling her body shake softly as she tried to hold it in.

“I think the last time we did this was before I started dating you're mother.” Fareeha went quiet for a moment, feeling her face flush slightly as Zarya continued to chuckle next to her.

“That sounds about right, actually. Though given how I found out, I think it's unfair to blame me for being weird about it for a while.” Her friend laughed again, and she pinched her side gently, making her twitch against her.

“I've missed this too. Didn't really want to push things. Figured it'd be weird for you.” She slowly slumped to the ground, pulling Zarya down with her till they were both sitting on the dirt, legs stretching out in front of them. She watched the sun crest over the hills, lighting up the scrub around the base, grateful to be shaded from it.

“I'm going to need a second. Someone to help me out. Was hoping you might do it.” Zarya looked down at her, lifting a hand to rub through her long hair as a smile spread across her face.

“I'm flattered, really. I'm not much of a leader though. Would much rather be following.” Fareeha grinned at her, letting her head fall back into the crook of her shoulder.

“Well, I'll still be the one in charge, so there's no need to worry about that. Just means that if I'm not around, you'll be the person people look to.” Zarya frowned, turning back to the horizon and creasing her brow slightly. “You'll be good at it. Trust me. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't have faith in you.” She kept frowning for a moment more, before sighing and letting her head fall back.

“Alright. I'll give it a shot. You can always let someone else do it if I blow it.” Fareeha smiled up at her, noticing the corner of her mouth twitch up slightly. “This is going to be weird for your mother. Angela, too.”

“How so?” Her confusion turned to dread as she saw a smirk start to form on Zarya's face, a small, dark chuckle escaping from her.

“They're really not going to be used to me being the one in charge.” Fareeha groaned, rolling her eyes and pinching her friend's side hard, making her yelp in between her giggles.

“Honestly, can we not have one nice moment without you making things weird?” Zarya shook her head, and Fareeha sighed, collapsing back onto her chest, grinning in spite of herself. “At least having me in command hasn't been much of a change for Lena.” She felt everything go still for a moment, before Zarya snorted with laughter, clapping her back hard.

“Well, that certainly lines up with what she's told me.” Fareehah felt her face flush slightly, but she still laughed with her, feeling Zarya's chest shake underneath her. Eventually, the two of them stopped, and they sat in silence for a while, watching the landscape, occasionally brushing a hand over each other, till they heard noises come from the building behind them.

“That might be our cue to head back in,” Fareeha chuckled, forcing herself up and stretching her legs out. “I'll check in with Winston and let him know about you being second-in-command.” Zarya nodded at her, pushing herself up and stretching her arms out.

“Good plan. I'll take my duties seriously, and make sure that everyone starts cleaning up the place. Can't have our new Commander eating breakfast in filth, can we?” She rolled her eyes again, grinning as she felt her second falling in close behind her, walking through the doors and staring at the people trickling in. They were groaning and moaning and slumping into seats, but Winston wasn't among them. She turned to Zarya and nodded, heading off down the hall, leaving her grinning in the midst of her hungover crew, pleased to see that Lena wasn't going to be there for whatever came next. She was almost at the dorms when she heard a crashing behind her, like someone slamming pots together.

“C'mon, people! This place isn't going to clean itself.” She chuckled to herself as she heard shouts of protest start to fade away behind her, thinking back on what she'd expected Overwatch to be when she was younger. Nothing like this, certainly. The Overwatch of her dreams had been grand and powerful, thwarting evil around the world. Instead, what she got was something comfortable and close. A group of friends, old and new, working together to make the world a better place, fighting against enemies they had no reason to believe they could defeat. She was wondering if the reality was better or worse when she rounded a corner and found Lena standing in front of her, yawning in her pyjamas.

“Thought I heard some shouting from the hall. Seemed a bit early for that.” She was still half asleep, scratching at her behind and holding a hand up to her mouth to hide another yawn. Fareeha suddenly had her answer, and she stepped forward, pulling her partner into a tight embrace. “Well hey there. Someone's feeling good this morning.”

“Just thinking about how good I have it.” Lena grinned up at her, running a hand through her hair and pulling herself up for a quick kiss.

“Oh yeah. I'm a real catch. Haven't even brushed my teeth yet, if you hadn't noticed.” Fareeha giggled, letting her head rest against her lovers for a wonderful moment before letting go, still smiling down at her.

“I was going to head up and see Winston. Needed to tell him something.” Suddenly they heard crashing from the main hall, followed by a stream of loud Russian.

“I was gonna go get breakfast, but I'd honestly rather avoid whatever the hell that is.” Lena moved round to her side, linking arms with her and walking by her side as they headed to Winston's room, still hearing faint arguing fade behind them. She was happy, maybe happier than she'd ever been. She'd found a woman who loved her, friends who had her back, and a family she thought she'd lost. It wasn't what she'd dreamed of, what she'd hoped for. It was better.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done. I do like this one, even if I think it could have come out a bit better. Still, no point in stewing over something forever, waiting till it's perfect and never actually showing it to anyone. I hope you've all enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me on tumblr at theflyingpeanutwritesthings.tumblr.com. I post a bit less since I started work, but there's still plenty of good gay stuff there.


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